Before flying to Oahu, the coaches of a local youth soccer club said their girls team would be taking on the “group of death.” Afterward, they called themselves winners. Team Onipa’a’s U14 girls team won its bracket in the Thanksgiving
Before flying to Oahu, the coaches of a local youth soccer club said their girls team would be taking on the “group of death.”
Afterward, they called themselves winners.
Team Onipa’a’s U14 girls team won its bracket in the Thanksgiving Tournament over the weekend, hosted by Oahu youth club Hawaii Rush Soccer Club.
“The girls, they went all the way to the finals. They took the gold,” said Team Onipa’s coach Ramon Semblante on Tuesday. “They played Rush, the No. 1 team in Hawaii.”
The U14 girls played four matches over the weekend and went undefeated, winning the championship game against Rush 03G Blue, 2-1.
Trachelle Iwamoto and Logan Kamalani scored those goals for the Kauai girls team in the final match, Semblante said.
“The girls, they just played. Overall, it was good. It was exciting because we always get beat 12-0 with these kind of teams like Rush. (After) the final, we were happy. They won, 2-1. All the kids were happy. Playing with these teams, it was always zero. We had a hard time to score. But it was our day, our time.”
Team Onipa’a’s U14 boys team went 1-2 in its bracket at the Thanksgiving tourney and placed third in the group.
“They played hard. They were too fast, the other teams,” Semblante said. “These boys, it’s all different clubs, too. (We didn’t have that) bonding in practice. Maybe in the next tournament, I have to tell them to be in practice the whole time if you want to improve yourself there.”
